Australian prime minister Tony Abbot got elected saying, among other things, that global warming science was a bunch of crap.
Now he says that “Climate change is real, as I’ve often said, and we should take strong action against it…” Why the amazing massive ginormous flip-flop? Because Abbot is feeling the heat. So are a lot of Australians as they suffer through tremendous bushfires devastating huge areas of New South Wales. Australia has always been prone to fire, but the scale of this event is astounding. So too is the timing — it isn’t even summer yet down under. But it’s absolutely clear that “fire season” has been getting longer in Oz, starting earlier and ending later. And the reason for this very early outbreak: an extra-hot and extra-dry winter, exacerbated by — you guessed it — man-made climate change. Global warming.
Open Mind 